Week 4: Hmmmm..... about technology in the classroom

Hmmm....
1.   Why does it always mess up when you REALLY need it? You know, like if you are giving a presentation or being observed or when you have a substitute!
2. Why does the district or those that install just expect that you automatically know how to use it, or even know how to turn it on!  They gave us these great Elmos and never once explained some of the features about it.

3. What will be the next “cool” thing to be invented- aren’t they all already here??

4. Why can’t I make myself put all of my appointments and reminders in Outlook? I can’t get rid of the paper calendar!

5. Why doesn’t my district have a site that compiles all the wonderful SmartBoard lessons that our teachers have created? Why are we each expected to create or at least find a wheel on the big broad internet??

6. What did we do before technology??

7. Why can’t some of my parents realize that voice mail and notes to school is a thing of the past- email me!

8. When will we stop ordering textbooks in elementary school? Kind of scary to think about.

9. Why do I feel that no matter how much I am learning about sites and new technology, I still feel that I know nothing?!

10. Technology is great, but I don’t think I can even keep their attention if my SmartBoard isn’t at least on, even if I am not using it! The stimulus factor for this generation is a bit out of control.

Week 3: 23 Things KS Webinars

I tried to choose several webinar sites, but I had trouble getting into them. Opal finally worked for me. I chose one called, "Let's Get Social."  It was hosted by Carol Hartman, Anne McDonald and Jane Plass. It was an information piece on Twitter and it functionality in the library system.  At first, they had a technical glitch that was VERY annoying- it kept clicking!  After a few minutes, they were able to stop it. This webinar did not show them live, but it had their voices and there was a texting stream going on the side with the coordinators talking.  I like that it had the PowerPoint up and I could sift through it while I listened instead of having to stay on the slides as they talked about certain subjects. I did learn that you can go to another website and bypass the 140 character limit for Tweeting!  I think this would kind of defeat the purpose though. Twitter was also originally called  "Status." In general, I think that on-line meetings or webinars will have a significant place in our future. Information needs to be accessible at an affordable rate. This can really cut down on travel expenses for a company. My school district tried this for our professional development. They had 4 different sites linked to the screen and then the presenter. I thought it would have been really cool, but the presenter overdid it with her time and lost her audience.

Week 3: Instructional Design

"Education has missed the boat, with respect to instructional design. Teachers come up with lesson plans on the fly, with little thought to why they are presenting information or even who their audience is. Teacher traning, at the university level and during Professional development, needs to focus on helping teachers become comfortable with instructional design principles."

I really would like to have a big strong rebuttal to this comment, but unfortunately I am at fault at certain points and days in the classroom. I feel that I put thought into my audience, but often don't take enough time to evaluate the results. We are so busy and pressed to stay with the district's timeline, that we just go on to the next unit, ironically possibly leaving children behind. In the past couple of years we really have started pretesting and post testing more and then creating intervention groups to help those that still didn't get the concept. I do feel that I spend more time in certain phases of the ADDIE framework. I think that the implementation phase is probably hit the strongest, and that possibly isn't the wisest. I feel that Instructional Design is a logical decision that should be utilized by teachers, but in the essence of time, its potential is not played out in most classrooms. Reflective practices have always been a goal of mine, but the articles reminded me once again that it is more than just looking at the grades in my gradebook. If I were to choose one, it would probably be the Morrison, Ross, Kemp Model. I preach "flexibility" in my classroom; so I think this one would be the best for me.

Week 2: I believe educational technology is.....

...something that I had a complete misconception of! My view WAS that educational technology mainly involved the media the that it took to teach the children in our classrooms. SmartBoards, Elmos, and computers were my answers. Now that I have read the articles describing the history and theory, my mind has been opened to the idea that problems in human learning can be indentified and solved using educational technology. People, specifically teachers, are a main component when it comes the field of technology in general, which is kind of ironic when I go back to my original thoughts! :-)

Week 2: 23 Things It's my homework!

I love that I can finally blame my Facebook time on my homework! I chose it because like so many others, I already have an account. I like that I am able to feel comfortable with at least one part of this technology challenge. It is also very popular, so it has been easy to connect with many of my close friends and reconnect with those that I have lost touch with over the years. I enjoy looking at my friends' pictures related to their lives and reading about the trials and tribulations they may be currently facing. Brenda's Facebook page

There is a first time for everything!

When blogging first came out, I thought it was silly and a waste of time for someone to put their lives online. Every once in awhile I would click on some friends' posts and eventually was amazed that I hadn't known what great writers and story tellers several of them were. They could make an ordinary event turn in to their own Seinfeld episode.

I am looking forward to learning ways that I can make this relative to my own 4th grade classroom. It should be a learning event to say the least! I chose the world background because I love to travel, but this is also going to be an adventure in itself, as is my decision to return to grad school. I hope I don't get kicked out of the country!